PAW PAW -- More than 40 years after a prolific college sports career and a stint in minor league baseball that was cut short, Dave Anderson still finds a way to get the adrenaline pumping.

The Paw Paw resident and former Western Michigan University basketball and baseball star fills his competitive void with recreational golf these days.

"I really enjoy the game, " Anderson, 68, said of golf. "I can't play it like I used to, but I still like to compete. It's fun to play with my old buddies over the years. I just feel if I don't embarrass myself, I'll keep doing it as long as I can."

Anderson played baseball and basketball for WMU from 1961-65 and cemented himself in the school's and Mid-American Conference's record books, most notably in basketball with his conference season scoring record in '65.

He was drafted the same year by the Houston Astros and played two years in the minors during the Vietnam War, but decided to become a full-time teacher rather than continue his baseball career and get drafted.

"They were drafting everyone and there was a shortage of teachers, " Anderson said. "I was teaching at Paw Paw and I would leave early in summers for spring training. The Selective Service got wind of it and told our superintendent that I would have to either be a full-time ballplayer or teacher."

Anderson's love of golf grew in the 1970s to the point where he felt comfortable playing in the Kalamazoo city tournaments, and he has been doing it since.

"In the 70s and 80s, I started getting good enough to play with the better golfers in the area, " he said. "It was a good pastime for a school teacher."

Anderson won a local match play championship in 1992 and has collected a handful of tournament wins throughout the years "in the senior division, " he pointed out with a little laugh.

"I try to play four tournaments a year in the area, " he said. "Sometimes I don't make it to the Fall Medal (now called the Fall Festival) because I do a lot of bow hunting."

Anderson most recently played in the Kalamazoo County Amateur tournament June 25-26 and shot 159 (82-77) to finish in the middle of the Senior Flight.

The thrill of playing against good competition in the area still gets Anderson excited to lace up the shoes.

"It's just a different game than baseball and basketball, but you still can get in that competition that I enjoy, " he said. "There are a lot of good golfers in the Kalamazoo area and I enjoy matching up against them. I like competing, I always have. It's not important, but it's a heck of a lot of fun."